Mapping Muslims Report Released

New York: American Muslim civil liberties groups released a new report last fortnight, “Mapping Muslims: NYPD Spying and Its Impact on American Muslims,” documenting the devastating impacts of the New York Police Department’s (NYPD) extensive surveillance program that targeted American Muslims throughout the Northeast and spread outrage throughout the nation. Since 2002, the NYPD embarked on a covert domestic surveillance program that monitored American Muslims throughout the Northeast, from spying on neighborhood cafes and places of worship to infiltrating student rafting trips, a program that continued despite the NYPD’s own acknowledgment that, over the course of six years, these efforts had not generated a single lead. The report is an unprecedented collection of voices from affected community members reflecting how the NYPD spying and infiltration creates a pervasive climate of fear and suspicion that encroaches upon every aspect of their religious, political, and community lives. The report was prepared by the Muslim American Civil Liberties Coalition, and its partner organizations, including the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund (AALDEF). American Muslim community members delivered the report to NYPD Commissioner, Ray Kelly and Deputy Commissioner of Intelligence, David Cohen.